Boy Shot in Shoulder During Hunting Accident

A 9-year-old St. Louis boy sustained a gunshot wound in a hunting accident Sunday, Nov. 26, near Berger.

According to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, the boy was exiting a tree stand and attempting to hand a 20-gauge shotgun to his father’s friend at the base of the stand.

The butt end of the firearm struck a rung of a ladder causing the gun to discharge a slug. The boy was struck by the slug in the right shoulder. He was transported to St. Louis Children’s Hospital with nonlife threatening injuries, authorities said.

The incident occurred about 9 a.m. in a wooded area on a farm near the 1000 block of Sauer Ford Road.

A deputy, New Haven/Berger Volunteer Fire Department and the Hermann Ambulance District responded to the scene. The Missouri Department of Conservation is assisting with the investigation.